Christmas is icumen in?

A real festive peculiarity is a Christmas greetings card from 1884. It includes a facsimile of the lyrics and tune for 'Wolcum Yol', supposedly an early Christmas carol. The tune given is actually that for 'Sumer is icumen in' (famously composed in Reading in the 13th century), but the words are taken from another medieval document. It was deposited rather randomly alongside a deed of a farm in Wokingham forming part of the marriage settlement of Charles Meaden of Binfield and Mary Pocock of Upton, 1774 (D/EX2994).

Schools

Papers of Barbara Carter, nee Dening, 1936-2021, relate to her time at Faringdon County Girls’ School (formerly The Elms School) and experience as an Old Girl (D/EX2599). The personal papers of local historian Sidney Gold (1935-2023) include material relating to his schooling at Wilson School in Reading (D/EX3000). We have also received magazines for Kendrick Girls’ School, Reading, 1957-1958 (D/EX2939); and Lambrook School in Winkfield has added the magazines for 2020-2023 to their archive here (D/EX1832).

The computer age

Reading’s recent history at the heart of technological innovation is highlighted by the papers of Geoff Shingles of the Digital Equipment Corporation (UK), 1964-1998 (D/EX2930). The firm was a US-based computer systems manufacturer and distributor established in 1957 and manufactured minicomputers, which were significantly smaller and more affordable than competitors. The company also launched one of the earliest internet search engines, AltaVista, in 1995. Sales of minicomputers declined in the late 1980s as competitors moved towards cheaper microcomputers, and DEC was acquired by Compaq in 1998. The UK branch started in 1964 with just two employees working out of an office above a shop in Castle Street, Reading, but within two decades, it had over 2,000 employees. Geoff Shingles (1939-2021) joined DEC as a field service engineer in 1965 and worked for the company in the US before becoming Managing Director of Northern Europe in 1972. 

New digital arrivals 

Our born-digital collection includes a film of the ceremonial annual opening of the Crown Court in Reading during the Covid-19 year of 2020 (SH4/2). Traditionally held at Reading Minster but due to Covid-19 restrictions it was moved to an outside location with a limited congregation and streamed online. The film can be viewed either onsite on one of our bookable PCs, or at home on the Royal Berkshire Archives Digital Repository. 

A seven year joke: the loss of North Berkshire

The large scale reorganisation of local government in England which resulted in the loss of the northern part of the historic county of Berkshire to Oxfordshire County Council in 1974 caused considerable local opposition, as reflected in the records of The Friends of North Berkshire and the Back to Berkshire Campaign, n.d. [c.1980]-1994 (D/EX1912). A circular they issued in 1981 described the changes as a 'seven-year joke'.

Builders 

The accounts of John Hussey of Wargrave, carpenter and builder, 1881-1895 (D/EX2903) record the work he did including plumbing and glazing, building repairs, carpentry, and work for funerals. One job even entailed clearing bats from a house roof. We have also catalogued accounts of Arthur Bassett of Reading, a carpenter who did small building jobs, 1906 (D/EX536).

Household bills

Household bills of John and Winefride ‘Terry’ Hadland of Tilehurst, 1947-1952, show the costs of keeping a household going for an average family in the post-war years (D/EX2834). The file includes an advertisement for chimney cleaning ‘by the New Vacuum Process’, by K Lock of Reading, 1950; several illustrated billheads of E Hill & Sons (Reading) Ltd, leather goods manufacturers, 1951-1952; and some correspondence with suppliers, including a delay requested on the supply of a new car due to rising prices. We have also listed a collection of receipts for payments to many local businesses from the Bradfield family of East Hendred, millers, 1860s-1890s (D/EX2637).

A keen worker

We have been given a letter of recommendation of A J Hayward, a male employee of Miranda Harrison Hughes of Eddington House, Hungerford.

It is not clear what job he did, but he is described as 'excellent at his work & very keen at any job given to him' (D/EX2889).

Childhood memories 

We have received two fascinating memoirs by members of the Hutchins family: Stewart’s memoir describes growing up in Thatcham, Greenham and Midgham during the 1920s and 1930s, while his uncle Monty grew up in Tadley, Hampshire (D/EX2874).

You can find out more about these records by searching our online catalogue. Simply enter the collection references given above in the Catalogue Reference field.